Thrill Ride
by Twilights Lily
Summary: Kate finds that life as a Pokemon Ranger has become rather dull after Operation Brighton. Even completing the Browser and the Capture Arena can't give her the same thrill as her earlier days. Maybe the neighborhood Drowzee Man and Keith can help out.
1. Chapter 1 Quest! The Drowzee Man!

Chapter One:  
Quest! The Drowzee Man!

* * *

In the region of Almia, Rangers are diligent, hard workers, but even they have to let loose every once in a while. Today, the three operators at the Ranger Union were throwing a party by the Tree of Harmony with the usual guests; Chairperson Erma, Prof. Hastings, Almia's four Top Rangers and the rest of the staff of the Ranger Union. Marcus, one of the operators who arranged this shindig brought up a laptop in the unlikely case that something big and alarming were to happen in Fiore or Almia while his colleges Rythmi and Linda stood by the door waiting for the remainder of the guests, refusing any who came in their uniform. The two had thought up of an "only casual wear" rule to help the employees relax, no one wanted to think about work while celebrating the achievements of Top Ranger number eleven.

This rule was why Top Ranger Keith had to rush back and change out of his uniform into a t-shirt and jeans just so he could get past Rythmi and Linda. However he didn't expect to see his rival and former classmate to be in skirt and blouse. Even her hair was different, tame and in an elegant ponytail rather than its usual spiky pigtails.

"Keith, you're here," Kate called out, noticing the boy noticing her, "I could hardly recognize you without your uniform!"

"Eh-heh, yeah, same here," he said, his face heating up with a sudden realization that Kate was indeed a girl. Who knew?

Kate smiled she noticed that even in casual clothes Keith looked exactly as a Ranger should, Styler on hand, placid partner pokemon by his side, and bright eyes ready for whatever life threw at him. She idly wondered if she once had the same look, sure, she had the Styler ready to go and two, not one, partner pokemon ready to spring into action at her command. However after Operation Brightion she became absorbed with completing the Browser and conquering the Capture Arena. After accomplishing both however she became bored , even after being allowed two partner pokemon (who of course were her first pokemon Pachirisu and that adorable little tyke, Chimchar). Many avoided talking with her, seeing as she had become quite bitter and dull since her famous triumphs. The only person she brightened up for was Keith and Rythmi.

"Some party, eh?" Keith asked after a moment of silence. Kate must have spaced out, she seemed to do so quite often, "Congrats, by the way."

"Hm? Oh yeah…the party. I'm sorry, I just drifted for a sec ," she said, chuckling. Pachirisu jumped up to her skirt and climbed up her clothes to get to his rightful spot sitting on her shoulder.

Keith laughed, "Seems he tore at your skirt a little," he said, pointing out the tiny tears left from the nutty pokemon's claws.

"Damn! This is new too."

"Didn't know you cared."

"Never said I did."

"Is that—" Keith said before being interrupted by a loud alert coming from Marcus' personal computer.

Kate ran over towards Marcus, Chimchar and Keith following closely after. "What is it?" she asked, hope lighting her blue eyes.

"Nothing, just another quest coming in, something about the Drowzee Man acting odd, almost violent," Marcus said, as he closed the window with the quest's information, "Funny, we've been getting a lot of those lately."

"Then someone should check him out, I know the Drowzee guy and the worst he can do is…is bring up the past," Kate said, her arms crossed and the hope in her eyes dimmed, but still shined, "If he's been acting violently or odd then we need to see what's wrong."

"Aw, don't worry about it too much Kate. It can wait till tomorrow can't it?" Rythmi asked, removing herself from her post at the door.

"No way. You guys can stay here but I'm going to go see what's up," Kate said stubbornly. She headed towards the exit, ignoring the various protests from the party goers.

She was just about to run down to the first floor when Keith called out to her.

"This is _your_ party, y'know!" he said, walking up to meet her.

"Yeah, well, this is now my quest, and I plan to take care of it," she told him, stepping on the escalator. Keith followed.

"Why is it so important to you? I didn't even know you were friends with the Drowzee guy,"

Kate didn't continue walking after she stepped off the escalator, she looked at Keith and waited for him to hit the first floor as well before explaining. "Because it's exciting! It's been so boring around here, haven't you noticed?" she asked him, her trust in him getting in the way of her desire to keep her secrets hidden, "So excuse me for being eager to do my job," she said as she ran out the door, in her casual clothes and Styler ready, to head out to Altru Inc.'s Peace Tower.

Just as Kate caught a wild Staraptor and was ready to fly off towards her destination, Keith came out of the Union building still in his party clothes and Styler aglow, ready to do its job.

"You're not going without me!" he said, climbing up on the Satraptor, "I'm up for a little action too."

Kate smiled and nodded as she sent the Staraptor towards the east, Peace Tower in sight.

Not long after they took flight, they landed on the very top of Peace tower, where the man in question could usually be found. On the way, Kate had put her hair back into her usual pigtails and her grin was wide with anticipation the whole ride. Thanking the Staraptor as if fled back to its home, Kate grabbed hold of the flashlight she wore around her neck, the flashlight that was her security blanket since Operation Brighton and her sudden phobia of the dark.

The tower was dark with night and the only light that shone was from the stones further up, which were know emitting an eerie glow that only cast long and unnatural shadows. As Keith advanced towards the stones, Kate stood shaken and turned on her flashlight and pointed it in front of Keith's path. The light immediately showcased a balding man slumped down, his chin resting on his chest in a lifeless manor.

Both Keith and Kate screamed at the top of their lungs, Keith jumping five feet into the air and to Kate's side. Their hearts beating and their breathing hitched, the man's head moved and his head lifted. His eyes were still closed and his expression emotionless. He looked like a zombie, and the haunting looks the two Drowzee beside him were nightmarish.

"What…do you…want?" asked the man, his tone slow and listless.

"Drowzee Man? We're here to ask why you've been acting so weird," Keith said, stepping forward, be mad sure to stay clear of the light, lest they lose sight of the sleepy man.

"Are you…two rangers?" he asked.

Keith and Kate nodded vigorously, both proud of their jobs. They had no idea what the title would bring them this time.

The Drowzee Man smiled, his grin clownish but evil as he stood and opened his eyes. His pupils were glowing red and his stance was like that of a puppet being forced to dance. "Very good then," he said, his sluggish tone gone.

As he spoke, the Drowzees' eyes began to glow purple just as the doors to either side of the rangers slammed shut.

Keith and Kate jumped with surprise and ran towards each door, struggling to open them.

"It's no use! It's locked!" Kate called out.

"Same here!" Keith reported. Both ran back in front of the Drowzee man and attempted to capture the Drowzee. But the Drowzee were able to dodge and break the rangers' Fine Stylers, avoiding their sorry attempts.

"What the hell? Drowzee man what's going on?" Kate asked the man as she pulled her Styler back where it would be safe. Chimchar and Pachirisu cried in distress and worry while Keith's Buizel crossed his arms and clenched its teeth, it seemed ready to fight for his master.

"Can't you see? I'm not the Drowzee man…not anymore anyway," said the man with a sinister smirk.

"Then why are you doing this?" Keith asked, as his last attempt at napping the Drowzee failed and his Styler came close to breaking.

"Why? It's simple. Almia's best ranger is allowing darkness into her heart, the one who sent the king of dark himself with her own heart of light has forgotten her origins, and she has awoken this personality of mine," the crazed Drowzee man blamed, pointing at Kate with knowing eyes. "Now I must teach you a lesson."

Keith looked towards Kate in confusion; was it truly her fault that the Drowzee man was acting insane? Or was that just a load of lies so he wouldn't be blamed? He would rather believe the latter.

"You shouldn't blame Kate for your problems, man!" Keith shouted.

"Oh, but I should, and shall. Besides, little Katie knows _exactly_ what I'm talking about. Don't you?"

Kate didn't look at either of the men, but at her partner pokemon, who seemed to be curious as to whether or not the man's accusations were true or not. She grinded her teeth and a loop out towards the Drowzees in a moment of anger and stupidity and her Styler was hit by another one of their psychic attacks, and shattered her line. Her Styler sparked in malfunction and she dropped it out of shock. "No!"

Keith widened his eyes at the sight. Kate, lose? No, no, impossible. And yet, there she sat, her Styler smoking and Kate on her knees on the verge of tears. He had to pry his eyes away from her to see the two Drowzees coming to attack her.

"Hey! Leave her alone!" he yelled as he drew a line to protect her and hopefully catch the vicious pokemon. No such luck, for his line was hit by another attack and his Styler broke down in a similar fashion as Kate's. He dropped it and looked fiercely at the Drowzee man.

"Ohoho, no need to look so angry m'boy," he said, his grin as devilish as ever. "Now that you can't fight back, let me take you two back, back to a much, much _different _time."

With his words spoken the Drowzee man's eyes closed and he lifted his hands into a position much like the Drowzees'. His two companions returned to his side and all three began to chant.

_"Drowz. Drowz. Drowz."_

Keith and Kate stood motionless as he did so, afraid of the spinning scenery that was beginning to melt away at their feet. Soon, the Drowzee man began to disappear as well, in which both rangers called out in protest.

Slowly, the colored mess that was the top of Peace Tower slowly changed and rewrote itself into a tiny town, a town that Kate could immediately name.

The two landed with a thud to the grassy ground that was awkward to feel after just coming from a concrete floor. Keith stood up first, lending Kate and hand. The two dusted off the dirt that got on their clothes and looked around. It defiantly was Chicole Village, but it seemed so empty.

"We're in…" Keith trailed off.

"Yup."

"But we were…"

"Yup."

"How?"

"I don't know, but my family lives here, we should go see them and get some rest, then we need to go to the Union and explain what's going on," Kate said, leading the way towards her home. Keith followed silently, until something occurred to him.

"Kate…" he said, stopping in his tracks.

"What?" she asked, turning around and slightly annoyed.

"He said he was taking us to a different time,"

"Yeah, no kidding. At least we know you can listen," she said, walking towards her house again.

"No!" he grabbed her shoulder and turned her around, "He sent us to the past!"

"What makes you say that?"

"Look," he said, pointing towards a for sale sign on her house. She blinked in disbelief and walked towards it.

"What in the world?" she murmured to herself. Something about this scene was familiar, as if she'd gone through it once before.

"Hey! Excuse me!" Keith and Kate turned towards the new voice, a man apporached them ready to chase off a couple of lovebirds from the house. "I'm sorry, but if you're not looking to buy then you should leave, I have a nice family coming by and I don't want a couple of teenagers hanging around planning who knows what!" he said. Before either of them could respond, he entered the house once more, slamming the door, making Kate wince.

"I hate it when you're right," Kate said backing away from the sign.

"Then what do we do?" Keith asked, "Our Styler's are gone, probably still on top of Peace Tower, we're back in time when we were in school so no one knows who we are!"

"Simple, we find the Drowzee man and force him to get us back. Same thing happened once with Wendy and mr. We had to catch Dialga to get back."

"So, how are we going to find the Drowzee man?"

"Simple. We go back to Peace Tower and confront him again, he's bound to be up there," Kate said, she was ready to move so she started to walk towards the village's exit.

"But Kate…!" Keith said as he ran after her, "Peace Tower isn't even completed yet! How're we going to get to him?"'

Kate opened her mouth as if she knew the answer, but snapped it shut once she realized she didn't. "No clue," she told him.

Keith grabbed his hair and made out as if he were trying to pull it out. "How're we going to get home?!" he asked frantic.

"I don't know!"

"Then figure it out!"

"If you're so smart you do it!"

As the two rangers argued, they didn't notice the card that came floating down. It had to smack Keith in the face before either would pay attention to the note.

"What's that?" Kate asked.

"I dunno…trash?" he answered while looking it over, "No wait! It's a note from…the Drowzee Man!"

"What? Give it here!" Kate said as she took the note from Keith's grasp and read it aloud.

"'You won't find a solution just standing around, rangers. Try going back to the beginning. Signed, Drowzee Man.' I can't believe it," Kate said as she shook her head.

"I know. Who knew that the Drowzee Man's name was actually 'Drowzee Man'!" Keith laughed.

"What? No you idiot!" she said, socking his arm, "We have to go back to the Ranger School!"

Keith and Kate wandered around town seeing people they knew but they didn't dare acknowledge them, knowing full well they didn't know who they were yet. They made it to the Ranger's school with little trouble, although they felt vulnerable every time a wild pokemon jumped out, them being without their trusted Stylers. Their only defense were their partner pokemon who faithfully followed them. Once on school grounds they immediately entered the gates and passed a couple of students in the front yard practicing with their student Stylers.

"Brings back memories huh?" Keith asked.

"For all we know they are memories," Kate said, her eyes shifty and careful.

The two found their way to the Teachers' Lounge and spotted Principal Lamont. They knew that he could help.

"Why hello there! Are you two new students?" he asked them as soon as he noticed their entrance.

"Not exactly…Um, have you had two students by the name Keith and Kate enroll here recently?" Kate asked.

"Hmm, no I'm sorry, why? Are you looking for the two?" the principal asked.

"Oh, no. We're Keith and Kate, we just thought that we had registered already to take the test, I guess that isn't so," she said, making up a story on the spot.

"I see, well, I don't think Mr. Kaplan is busy. Go tell him your there to take the entrance exam. It's in the building to the right of the school, can't miss it."

"Thank you."

"Yeah, thanks," Keith said as the two walked out of the school.

As they came out, Keith stopped Kate and looked at her in confusion.

"Why are we taking the test?" he asked her.

"So we can become students, of course."

"Yeah, I know that, but _why_?"

"Because, the note said to go back, and we're here and nothing's happened. He said I forgot my origins and I think he wants me to recover that."

"Okay, fine, but I don't know why you're so special," Keith mumbled as the two walked out to take the test.

Of course the test was a breeze! It was being introduced to the class once more that made it awkward.

"Today we have two new students; Keith and Kate," Mr. Kincaid introduced the two to the class, "Please remind them that there is absolutely _no running_ in the hallways."

Keith and Kate didn't know what was going on they were told they were going to the classroom on the left; Ms. April's room, but when they arrived they found Mr. Kincaid lecturing one of the boys about running in the halls.

They dynamic duo took a seat next to each other, Keith next to an empty seat on the right side of the room. It was a relief when the door opened and Ms. April's friendly face popped in.

"Okay Mr. Kincaid, thank you for covering for me, you can go back to your own classroom now.

Mr. Kincaid muttered a goodbye and another reminder not to run in the hallways and left the room, leaving Ms. April in control of the room once more.

"Okay, from what I understand we have new students today, Keith and Kate right?" she said once she reached her desk.

"That's us!" Keith said with his cheeky grin.

"Aren't you loud? Well it's a pleasure to meet you two."

"Same here," Keith and Kate chimed.

Weeks had passed as the two went to the classes they attended before, and soon they became the top of their class, besides Isaac of course. Their partner pokemon stayed close behind, avoiding being captured by other students and sneaking off with some of the Bidoofs' food and treats, which annoyed Janice to no end.

It wasn't until one particular day did things begin to grow interesting.

"Today, we have another new student in out classroom, as well as another in Mr. Kincaid's room. This student comes from the far off region of Fiore," Ms. April announced one day.

The students began to chatter nonstop, asking would it be a girl or a boy, were they cool, and other such nonsense.

Keith and Kate knew very well that it was going to be another girl, another Kate, and that worried them somewhat, but there was nothing they could do but wait for the moment.

"Settle down! Let's just allow the new student to come in and tell you," Ms. April said, looking towards the door. The whole class turned and watched as a young boy stood at the doorway, his brown hair styled so there were spikes on the left of his head and his blue eyes were excited while his face showed little to no emotion.

"Hello, my name is Kellyn."

* * *

**Author's Note: (EDIT 4/25/10)** **Hehe, so I'm reserecting this little story of mine, since I've started playing SoA again. Enjoy! This edit comes some corrections in the story.**

**Hello there fellow authors and readers! This isn't my first fanfic but I'll be honest, it's my first decent one. I hope it makes sense and that it makes you laugh a little. Let's see, this idea came after playing through Pokemon Ranger: Shadows of Almia and I thought that I'd like to write a fanfic that foucses on Keith and Kate's relationship when they're in school and after they become Top Rangers, but writing a piece souly based off the game's story didn't sound like much fun. And then I came across the Drowzee Man, quite possibly the coolest character. Ever. I thought that if he could send you to the past, why not send you to a different reality? Thus, this story resulted. I can only ask that you read, enjoy, and maybe leave a review and help me better my writing.**


	2. Chapter 2 Test of Courage Kellyn!

Chapter two:  
Test of Courage Kellyn!

* * *

Throughout Ms. April's review for the new student, Keith and Kate stared at him with wide-eyed expressions. Occasionally Kellyn would look back and wonder why the odd couple beside him stared so intently, as if he were an alien or a rare anomaly.

Truth be told, he was, at least in Keith and Kate's perspective. They didn't understand how history could rewrite itself so that Kate, soon-to-be Top Ranger, would be a boy. It wasn't until Rythmi took her role as school guide and took Kelllyn away to tour the school that Keith and Kate began talking about the quiet new guy.

"Dude," Keith started, still in his seat.

"I know," Kate said, standing and pacing in front of Keith's desk. The two kept their voices low enough so only they could hear. No need to alert the class about their ever slipping sanity.

Keith chuckled, "You're a _dude_!"

Kate socked his arm and quickly went back to thinking as Keith moaned in pain. "I don't understand! What's happened?"

"Who knows? Maybe you've been replaced."

"Replaced? By who?"

"History. You just suddenly disappeared so it had to replace you so it could continue."

"That makes no…actually, that might be the smartest thing you've said! A little abstract...."

"I wonder who replaced me."

"It's probably Kellyn."

"No way, he replaced _you._"

"I'm a girl! How can he be me?"

"Dunno, you sure hit like a guy."

Kate punched his arm harder this time in response.

"Ow! Y'see?"

The two thought to themselves silently for a few minutes, wondering about the impossible and the odd reality they found themselves thrown into. Kate eventually sat herself on Keith's desk while he leaned in his chair so it only stood on its hind legs.

"So Kellyn is me…" Kate thought allowed, hoping she was on to something, "So maybe you're just Keith."

"Why am I 'just Keith'? I'm more than 'just'!" Keith complained, a tad insulted.

"Just listen. If they needed to replace me, then they need a best friend, but Rythmi fits into the category, since she didn't come back with us."

"Yeah but she's still your friend. So wouldn't he need two, like you?"

"I guess that's true," she said, her grasp on the concept gone. Neither of them knew what the hell was going on.

"Isaac maybe?" Keith asked.

"No, he plays another role in the story, remember?" Kate asked, still thinking, "Wait, didn't Ms. April say there was another new student? In Mr. Kincaid's room?"

"Yeah, so?"

"_So_, that didn't happen when I came, so maybe that new student is your replacement!"

Keith shook his head, "Doubt it."

"You're not even trying to figure this out anymore are you?" Kate asked, narrowing her eyes into a glare.

Keith just shrugged, agitating Kate enough that she made a move to push him off his chair when the door opened once more.

"Uh, sorry for coming in so suddenly," said a mushroom-headed boy from the door, "But I was just showing the new student around."

Isaac stepped deeper into the room to allow his guest inside. Most of the students paid little to no attention, but Keith and Kate kept their eyes locked on the door as the boy entered. He was taller than Isaac, maybe Keith's height, and had green eyes and twinkled with curiosity and a light neither of the Top Rangers could name. His hair was pale brown that would pass for blonde out in the bright sun.

"This is Clark, he just passed the test and wants to be a researcher like me," Isaac said, introducing the boy.

Keith rolled his eyes when he noticed the reaction of the girls around the room; they had all suddenly stopped their conversations to gather around the new guy and talk with him. How pathetic.

"Dude, Kate, you seeing this? How can girls be so—" Keith started, but looked up to Kate only to see the same look of admiration and want on her face, "Kate!"

"He's so…so…" Kate trailed off.

"Lame?"

"Perfect," she said, grabbing his head and pulling it to the ground as she walked up to Clark. To her surprise he noticed her as well and turned his attention.

"Hello," he said with a smile.

Kate giggled uncontrollably but clasped her hand over her mouth to avoid looking any more love struck than she already was. "Hi. Um, uh, welcome to the school," she greeted nervously. Was capturing the Stone Guardians as hard as talking with this handsome devil she wondered.

"So, what's your name?"

"Huh? Oh, my name—name, it's Kate! Yeah, Kate…"

"This is just sad," Keith said, getting up from his spill, "I'm going to go see how good the new kid is with a Styler," he announced as he left the room.

The two didn't meet again until that night. It was now their routine to go out after dark and sit at the tables in front of the dorms, a habit they formed back when they first met, only their third musketeer was no longer included. Instead of laughs and last minute studying, it was filled with serious talk of their situation, but that didn't mean the good friends didn't mess around either. However today they had to catch up with their days, seeing as they spent it separated for the first time since they came to this twisted time.

"How did Kellyn do?" Kate asked as soon as Keith sat down.

"Of course he couldn't compare to my awesome Styler skills," he told her, his grin wide and pride.

"So he caught four?" she asked.

"Yeah, just like you did," he said, his grin shrinking until his face was rigid with business.

"I hate to admit it, but I think you're right, he is my replacement."

"What about Clark?"

"Oh, well…he's nothing like you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"He's smart for one thing—"

"Hey!"

"_And _he isn't very open. Our whole conversation was about me or Isaac,"

"Are you saying I'm stupid and an open book?"

"Basically…"

Keith opened his mouth to argue when the door to either side of them opened up. Kellyn, Clark, and another boy from their class entering from stage left while only Rythmi coming out from the right.

"Oh, you guys are already here!" Rythmi said as she approached, "I already hide your Stylers for Kellyn and Clark."

"Really? You work fast," Kate said.

"What are you two talking about?" Clark asked.

"Oh, I guess we should explain," Rythmi said, "Every time we get a new student we give them a challenge, to test their courage. Each of us here has had our Stylers hidden and you two have to find it."

"And just to be safe, the person sitting next to the new student has to tag along," Kate added, "Keith and I had to escort each other," she laughed.

"And we still almost got caught!" Keith said with a grin, "You two up to the test?"

"Count me out, I find this to be childish," Clark said, raising his hands in protest, "Good night."

"Good night, Clark," Kate said dreamingly as he left.

Keith rolled his eyes, "Okay, Clark's a wuss. Kellyn, you doing it?"

"Yeah, I'll go," Kellyn said as he crossed his arms, "So Keith's coming with me?"

"Exactly! Now get going you two," Kate said, pushing the two out towards the stairs.

"What?! No, not again!"

Downstairs, Keith and Kellyn tiptoed in the halls as they searched for the missing Stylers. With Kellyn in the lead, he headed towards the teachers' lounge first. Inside, a Pichu was running around frantically at the sight of the two students.

"You going to give me a hint?" Kellyn asked.

"Huh? Oh sure; the Styler won't stay in one pace," Keith said, making the hint as obvious as possible, the sooner they were out of the dark halls the better. No matter how many times he did this challenge it scared the crap out of him.

Kellyn caught on fast and chased after the panicked Pichu. Soon after catching up to it and befriending it, he took the Styler off its collar and let it go.

"Nice, dude," Keith complimented.

"Thanks, it was fun," he said moving on to the other room.

Keith blinked; fun? He hadn't heard anyone say that about capturing, well except for Kate, but that seemed like ages ago.

The two found the other three Stylers rather quickly and without much conversation except for the few jokes they made about pretty boy Clark. Soon enough their final task was all that was left. They crept down the stairs and found wooden fences in their way.

"You know how to Target Clear?" Keith asked.

"Of course," Kellyn responded with a smirk as he quickly caught a nearby Zubat. Without much trouble he had the Zubat cut that wooden fence like firewood and released back to where it came. The boys continued on their quest and came up to the basement door. The noticed the lights on from the crack underneath.

"Who's in there?"

"Probably Mr. Kincaid, he's sorta adopted the place as his 'secret lair.'" Keith laughed, even though he knew very well what he spoke was the truth. Oddly enough, the thought didn't occur to either he or Kate to stop Team Dim Sun right now and then. He made a mental note to talk to Kate about it the next chance they got, but for now, something was making a noise…

"Did-did you hear that?" Keith asked Kellyn as he approached the door.

"You mean you clattering your teeth? Yeah, ever since the test started," he said chuckling.

"Not that! It sounds like…"

Before Keith could answer, four Gastly appeared right before their eyes.

"Holy crap! Get them get them!" Keith cried quickly getting behind Kellyn. Kellyn sighed and prepared his Styler. He caught the Gastly's two at a time, and as Keith watched he couldn't help but compare the student to Kate, whom had caught the same Gastly one, then three at a time. They weren't the same, but similar, no doubt about that.

After releasing the pokemon, Keith urged Kellyn to drop off the Stylers before the noise _they_ made would be noticed.

Too late, the door creaked open to reveal Mr. Kincaid stepping out.

"Dude, run, run!" Keith yelled grabbing his friend and running out of the basement as they overheard the teacher demand them to stop running and to know what they hell they were doing.

Days passed without problems with Mr. Kincaid after Kellyn's initiation, little trouble aroused except for the Outdoor class being cut short and Keith being accused of stealing the school's Stylers. A day before the One-Day internships, while all the other students were chatting away about what they expected their experiences to be, Keith and Kate kept to themselves as they went over Keith's thought about stopping Team Dim Sun before they could even get started.

"No," Kate refused.

"What? Why the hell not?" Keith asked, the two were at their usual seats in front of the dorms while everyone else awaited sleep.

"Why? We could upset the balance of our world, think about it. Besides, who would believe us? We're only students."

"But we're _good _students. And we'd stop the suffering of thousands of pokemon and people! We have to do this, Kate."

"Keith, you don't think I actually want to see everyone suffer, do you? But we can't stop it. I don't want to screw with history, y'know."

The couple argued way into the night as they went back and forth between right and wrong and safe and dangerous. Eventually, the two decided to sleep it over, promising to each other to consider the other's proof, while mentally they were already dismissing it as garbage.

As the two left the room, a note fell from the ceiling, landing on the chair that Kate had been sitting just moments ago. The handwriting was familiar to the two confused readers, small and sharp and was none other than the Drowzee Man's.

"Seems that keeping their memories intact wasn't the best idea, perhaps things would be more entertaining if I just let their future slip away from them.

-Drowzee Man."

The note was addressed to no one, and ultimately no one would read it, as a mysterious power caught the small note on fire, but instead of being orange or red, it was a ghostly purple that left no evidence behind, leaving the events of tomorrow to be a surprise for the lost Top Rangers.

**

* * *

**

**Author's Note: (EDIT 4/25/10) A few corrections made.**

**Hey guys! Welcome to Chapter two! Here we find things grow more and more confusing for the two. Next time; will Keith and Kate learn to agree with each other like they once did, will Kellyn prove more useful? Will I ever stop bothering these characters? I don't know about the first few but you know that I have a lot more up my sleeve for the two main characters!**

**I'm sorry for such a short and icky chapter. I'm in pain, seeing as I had my wisdom teeth pulled out the other day (impacted, I might add, I'm **_**still**_** bleeding). **

**As a last note I've decided to make myself a schedule that I'll hopefully keep up with. I want to give myself three to four days between chapters, allowing for writing, proofreading, and better editing. This may change when school starts in two weeks, seeing as I've but a lot on my plate this year (silly me).**

**Anyways, I hope you've enjoyed the second installment of "Thrill Ride" and please continue reading!**


	3. Chapter 3 OneDay Interns

Chapter three:

One-Day Interns

* * *

Kate and Keith stepped out of their dorms, late for class, at the same time. They looked to each other and the anger from the night before took over any sleep left in their eyes. They glared at each other and fell into the same step as they walked towards the stairs. On the way, both realized that they couldn't for the life of them remember why they were angry with each other. Still, they kept their glare heavy and decided that they were right— about whatever they were talking about the night before.

"I'm right, you know," Keith said right off the bat.

"Hah, right, and the world's coming to an end," Kate countered.

They looked away from their opponent and kept quiet as they raced to their classroom for the big day.

The big day, of course, was the one-day internships each and every student would be doing for their respected careers. But being late as they were, Keith and Kate had to stay behind and listen to Ms. April repeat instructions and lecture them on the importance of punctuality.

When they finally left, Kellyn was waiting for them outside, and he didn't look too happy.

"Good morning Kellyn," Kate greeted.

"Yeah, 'morning," he responded walking off and leading the way.

"What's your problem?" Keith asked him.

"My problem? _My _problem? Dude, I didn't get any sleep because you had to complain about your girlfriend all night!"

"Me?"

"Yes! _You! _You came back in the room and started ranting about how Kate was unethical, cold, and a bitch," Kellyn listed the things on his hands, "You never even told me what you were arguing about, so I was completely in the dark all night— literally too"

"So I'm a bitch, huh?" Kate asked ignoring Kellyn's little girlfriend remark.

"I never said anything like that!" Keith defended himself.

"Bull. You wouldn't shut up the entire night; you kept most of the dorm awake! You just suddenly stopped talking and went to bed, without any explanation I might add."

"Wow, how rude, Keith."

"I swear I didn't do anything like that!" Keith was completely lost, he didn't remember much of the night before, and he wasn't even sure how he got back to the dorm.

By this point they were at the stairs headed to Vientown. The trio was headed to the Ranger Base there to get the real feel of ranger life. It was sure that Kellyn was about to counter Keith's remark and remind him of his antics the night before when they heard screams for help.

"Someone's in trouble!" Keith said, happy for the distraction and running down the steps to aid the voice.

"Wait up!" Kate said following his lead.

Kellyn sighed and calmly followed no need for all three of them to fall down the stairs he thought.

It was a hilarious sight. A little man—by the look of it—had been chased up a tree by two Bidoof.

"You have ta help me!" screamed the man, "I'm deathly a-scared of Pokémon!"

"Oh, it's Little Tim, the milkman," Keith said to Kate and Kellyn, "Poor guy's terrified of Pokémon."

"I can see that," Kate said, holding back giggles.

"Just listen to 'em! 'Bidoo Bidoo'! They want ta attack me!" Little Tim yelled out.

Kellyn was having a bit of trouble keeping his cool too; he had to cough to regain some of his composure, "I'm sure they just want to play, sir."

"I'm tellin' ya! They wanna attack me."

"Well, I suppose there's nothing to do…" Kate began.

"Then to catch the Bidoof," Keith finished.

The two smiled and immediately took over the situation and captured the school's Bidoof. It was no sweat for the to-be Top Rangers; the problem was their competitive natures.

"Seems I win again, Kate," Keith teased as he released the Pokémon.

"Hah, right. I won that one, I caught it way faster than you," Kate argued.

"No way! I did!"

"I 'Okay'd' it faster than you!"

"No, I did!"

"I won, Kellyn knows that, right Kellyn?" Kate asked, turning to the other student. He was talking with Little Tim.

"Honestly, I wasn't watching," Kellyn said rolling his eyes.

"I gotta thank you all—saved me from some mighty vicious Pokémon there," Little Tim said with gratitude.

"Vicious? Hardly," Kate muttered.

"It's our job, Tim! We're just happy you're all right," Keith said.

"Yup! I'm awfully grateful. You should come see me an' the youngins when you get the chance. They'd enjoy that, so would the wife."

"Oh, that's right; Little Tim's wife is a legend around here…" Keith mentioned.

"What for?" Kate asked, curious.

"Well—"

"I ought-a go, thanks for the help!" Time said walking off.

"We should leave too, guys. We're already beyond fashionably late," Kellyn said, taking the lead.

Halfway across the bridge they came across yet another distraction.

"Who's the little girl?" Kellyn asked as she approached them.

"Dunno, never seen her around here," Keith admitted.

Kate's face filled with worry, "She looks lost…" she said walking up to her and getting on one knee to talk to her on eye level. "Where are you going?"

"I came to see him….but I don't know where to find him," she said, biting her thumb.

"Who did you come to see?"

"My big brother, he's a student here."

"I wonder who it is…" Keith thought aloud.

At that point, Ponte wandered onto the bridge, "Hey, what's going on here?" he asked.

"This little girl's looking for her older brother," Keith said.

"And keeping us from our internship," Kellyn added.

"Oooh…"

Kellyn then noticed Isaac walking across the bridge and then how he sped up when he noticed the girl.

"Melody! Melody what are you doing here?" he asked the little blonde girl.

"Hi Isaac! I came to see you," Melody sang as she sprang to hug her older brother.

"Aw," Kate thought the scene adorable, but Isaac didn't think so.

He wrapped a hand around his sister and patted her back. "You know you're not allowed to come here alone."

"I know…but I wanted to see you."

"That's so sweet!" Kate couldn't help but say.

"You're such a girl," Kellyn laughed.

"No, no it's actually pretty cute," Keith muttered.

"Right?" Kate asked grinning.

Isaac let Melody go, "I'll take you home, okay?"

"Okay, big brother!" she chimed.

"Aw, introduce us first!" Kate said.

He sighed and rubbed the back of his head while he quickly named everyone, "Keith, Kate, Kellyn, and that's Ponte. Everyone, this is my little sister Melody."

"Hi Melody," everyone greeted.

"Hi Isaac's friends!"

"C'mon, we better get going. Pueltown's on our way to the internship anyway," Isaac said ready to be on his way already.

"Oh yeah! That reminds me, isn't Clark with you?" Kate asked, hoping he was.  
"Hmm? No, he left before I did with Rythmi.  
"Oh…"  
"Okay, let's go," Isaac said leaving with Melody and Ponte following.  
Disappointed, Kate sighed and kept quiet as the boys agreed to get going as well.

Finally, they arrived at Vientown's Ranger Base. They stepped inside to find that no one but the operator was there.

"Why hello there!" she greeted them, "You must be from the Ranger School."

"Yes, we are!" Keith said as the trio walked up to the counter, "Where is everybody?"

"Hm? Oh yes…they went out on an urgent mission—very urgent," the operator said, "They went to…to…oh my I can't bring myself to say it seems."

"Uh-huh…So what're we supposed to do?" Kellyn asked, not buying the woman's story.

"We go and help them, duh!" Keith said, "What can we do to help?"

"Well, the leader did leave you a note, here take a look."

Keith and Kate sprung for the letter but Kellyn snatched it while they were pushing the

other out of the way. He nodded as he read the letter and gave a summary to the couple glaring at him.

"Basically, they need us to deliver a package to the sight of the mission," he explained.

"Let's get going then!" Keith said, raring to go.

"We need the package first, dude," Kate pointed out.

"Oh…Well, I was just testing you!"

Kate took the package from the Operator, who instructed them not to tip it on its side or—under no circumstance—turn it upside down. These instructions brought up some interesting and less than ethical discussions between the three.

"I bet it's a bomb," Keith said as they walked to the Breeze Hill.

"What're you talking about?" Kate asked, wondering where that idea came from.

"Well, you know, she said not to shake it up or turn it upside down, so it has to be something dangerous if moved—like a bomb."

Kate sighed while Kellyn covered his face with his palm. Keith beamed at the two, thinking he made a brilliant deduction.

"Keith, I doubt it's going to explode if we tip it over," Kate said after a while.

"It could just be a fragile tool, or a replacement part—I don't think they'd trust a bomb to a couple of students," Kellyn said.

"Well, then tip it over—see what happens."

Kate and Kellyn looked to each other and then at the package in her arms. Neither of them had the guts to try it, at least not so close to the item in question.

"N…no way—I don't want to get in trouble with the leader," Kate said, hiding her discomfort.

"Yeah, why disobey orders for something like that?" Kellyn agreed.

"Suit yourselves."

As they neared their destination, they came across an older man feeding four Pokémon, two were happily munching away, but two, a Pachirisu and Chimchar to be precise, kept their eyes locked on Kate, and she stared back, wondering if she knew these Pokémon from before. She later realized that she saw them at the school grounds once or twice as she listened to the man explain partner Pokémon.

"You three already know about partner Pokémon, right? Well, as I see it, it's the best part about being a ranger. See, you take your best friend with you wherever you go for an extra leg up if you ever find you need it. Partner Pokémon are usually very friendly Pokémon you bond with, but I like to think of it as a special energy that breaks through the wall of human and Pokémon that just awakens the trust and loyalty between two good friends."

Kate and Kellyn smiled politely, thanking the man for the rather long lesson and told him they had to be off. They started on their way when they noticed that they were missing someone.

Keith's eyes lit up, of course he already knew about the mechanics and uses of a partner Pokémon, but he had fallen in love with the old man's romantic explanation, "That's awesome! I want a partner Pokémon who'll really get me! One that would never leave my side."

At that point they heard the roar of a Buizel from somewhere beyond the trail.

"A Buizel? You don't see those around here often," Kellyn said.

"What does it matter? We need to finish up our mission already!" Kate said running off.

"Hey! Wait up!" Keith called back rushing after her.

Kellyn did as he usually did and heaved a sigh, wondering why he found himself following after the couple in the same manor time and time again.

They made it to Breeze Hill without incident (and no explosions), and what they found, well, none of them could have expected it.

"It's…cold," Keith gasped.

"Down right evil!" Kate called.

"So uncalled for," Kellyn sighed.

1 They realized it was a prank.

In front of them were the rangers they were meant to learn under, all grinning like mad men sitting on a red plaid blanket.

"Welcome, kids!"

The trio approached, skeptic and nervous, the thoughts of bombs and hidden dangers shrouded their judgment.

"I don't think we have to worry," whispered Kellyn, "There's Crawford, from our Outdoor class."

Keith and Kate simultaneously let out a sigh in relieve as Kellyn thought that they were way too in tune with each other, as if they had gone through more than a basic school friendship or even romance.

Keith stepped up and took the stage, as both interns and seasoned rangers watched him, "Hellomeetchaaaaa…." Keith held the last note as he realized what he was talking too fast.

Rangers started laughing and interns tried to hide their giggles, but the most noticeable laugh was that of the big man who dominated the area.

"Did you really just say "hellomeetcha"? Oh that's rich!" he laughed, "No need to be so nervous, kid! We're all friends here."

"He seems nice," Kate murmured with a touch of sarcasm, she wasn't a fan of people—other than herself of course, making fun of Keith.

"Yeah, big too, better not talk behind his back. He might end up our leader," Kellyn relayed.

"What're the chances? Besides, he might not be the leader."

"Name's Barlow, kids! And I'm Veintown's Ranger leader," the big man announced.

"Crap."

Kellyn kept his smile small and to himself.

"I'm Keith, oh and these are my friends Kate and Kellyn," he did the talking for the trio as always, despite his mishap earlier.

"Nice to meet you all! And I do hope you kept our precious cargo in one piece," Barlow said, eying the parcel in Kate's hands.

"Here you are sir," Kate said, setting it down in the middle of the blanket.

"Be careful with it, or else it might KA-PLOW!"

All three looked uncomfortable as Kate quickly backed away from delivery.

"Well it's about time! I'm starving, you know!" yelled one of the rangers, well, at least she was in a crowd of rangers—but she didn't quite fit.

"Settle down, Elaine, we haven't even explained yet," said one girl, who defiantly was a ranger, accompanied by a Buneary.

"Well, it doesn't matter now! It's lunch time!" Crawford cheered, his hair bouncing even after he stopped moving, "Oh the looks on your faces!"

And their expressions were something to laugh at. Each different and mirroring their personalities to a tee; Keith, his mouth wide open and his eyes darted from the lunch Elaine and the other female ranger were setting up and Barlow. Then there was Kate, her stare hard as she watched the girls set up lunch, her mouth open as if she were ready to let out a string of complaints. And Kellyn, the logic of the group, kept his head down, avoiding any gaze (especially the Buneary's partner's) as he kept his mouth in a tight line.

That girl laughed, "Don't worry, I fell for the same prank too."

They all sat around, eventually relaxing and enjoying the meal set up in front of them as Keith badgered Barlow and Crawford about their partner Pokémon and daily life as a ranger, Kate had a very interesting conversation with the mechanic, Elaine, about the importance of her role and how to fix (or rather, take apart) a Styler, and of course Kellyn wasn't saying much, but he was quite content to listening to Luana, the last ranger, talk about her first year as a ranger. It was quite the outing, nice enough that the intern trio had all but forgotten about being duped when a boy came running up the stairs and just about tripped on his way to the picnic.

"Help! Help! Pokémon gone wild!" he yelled.

Everyone hopped up, ready for action.

"Okay everyone! Time for action," Barlow commanded as they all rushed down to the beach where the trio remembered seeing the boy with his girlfriend.

"What happened?" Crawford asked as they saw the sight from the top of the trail. On the shore was a girl surrounded by five Pokémon acting strangely uniformed.

"I don't know…we were just watching the beach when I was just about to score third base—"

"Skip that please," Elaine said.

"Oh right, well all of a sudden a boat passed by and a strange noise come up and they started to act weird and trapped my girlfriend!"

"Weird, but we don't need an explanation now, but action!" Kellyn said, perhaps the coolest member of the group—official ranger or not.

"Agreed! Kate said looking out at the scene, scouting for the hardest Pokémon to catch, "I call Chimchar!" she said, rushing down to do her job.

"Well, let's get going then!" Barlow said, following after.

Kate was expecting more of a challenge with the Chimchar; the little monkey just about threw itself at her. Afterwards though, Kate felt a connection build and was dreading the upcoming moment when Barlow would say it was time to release the Pokémon. However when the time came she only hesitated a moment, and then said goodbye to the Chimchar, hoping to meet up with it again someday.

However not everyone followed orders.

"Kellyn! Why haven't you released that Pokémon?" Barlow asked the student.

"I…I don't know. It just won't leave," Kellyn said, he had captured Pachirisu, and it refused to leave his side.

"They have taught you how to release captures, right?" Crawford asked.

"Of course they have!"

"Thank do it!"

"It won't leave."

"Oh, I see what's happened," Barlow said, getting down on one knee to pet the Pachirisu, "This Pokémon is just exceptionally nice, and considering you met on Nabiki beach…well this little guy just wants to be your partner!"

"That's cute," Kate said, thinking it was an adorable way to meet a partner Pokémon.

"But we're not rangers yet, we can't have any partners," Keith pointed out, what a buzz kill.

"Well, I don't see any problem with it coming with us for a while," Barlow said, getting up, "Come on team, let's go clean up and go home. Oh! And Mission Clear everybody, students too!"

Everyone cheered and did their ranger poses, and Luanne mentioned she thought it was cute that they already came up with them.

The day came winding down and they eventually had to head home, not before meeting Professor Hastings and hearing about his ventures with a girl named Misery who desperately wanted to be an operator.

It wasn't until they were crossing the bridge did they realize that the lass was someone they all knew well. Walking home Rythimi called out to them and ran after them, grabbing Kate and Kellyn in one giant bear hug.

"How'd the internship go, guys?" she asked after letting go. It was only then did they notice Clark walking up to the group.

"It was, like wow! Right off the bat they gave us a mission!" Keith said, showing off.

"Really? What was the mission?" Clark asked.

"T-top secret. Sorry but we can't tell you."

"Right…"

"Well we had a pretty interesting day too! We met Professor Hastings—but of some reason he kept calling me Misery," Rythimi said, giggling.

"'We'? I thought you went to the Altru Inc. to intern under a researcher," Kate said, crossing her arms.

"Oh, I did, but about half-way through they made it clear they wanted to talk to Isaac alone so I left and headed to the Ranger Union and hung out with Rythimi," Clark explained, "You know, because Misery loves company."

Rythimi laughed and Kate faked a chuckle as Keith and Kellyn rolled their eyes.

"This dude is so…" Keith began.

"Bourgeois," Kellyn finished.

"Yeah…wait, huh?"

"Well, we better get back! Ms. April must be waiting for us," Rythimi said.

"Okay, let's go," Kate agree, leaving with Clark and Rythimi.

Keith and Kellyn stayed behind, they were staring at the Pachirisu that had found a nice resting spot on top of Kellyn's shoes.

"We have to let him go," Keith finally said.

"I know I just don't want to…"

"Whoa, you're attached to something?"

Kellyn socked Keith and pressed the release button once again for Pachirisu to leave. The little guy woke up and stared up at his captor. Kellyn mouthed a goodbye and, understanding, the Pokémon left, looking back before running off into the forest.

"You gonna miss him?" Keith asked.

"Nah, I'll see him again."

* * *

**Author's Note: To think I actually pulled out chapter three! Haha, enjoy, folks. I wanna say I'm sorry for keeping you waiting but...no wait, I really am sorry!  
**


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